MoD clears Lt Gen`s name in Sukna land scam

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry has cleared
the name of Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali in the Sukna land scam and
appointed him as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff.

His appointment for the post was approved by the
Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) after both the Defence
Ministry and the Army agreed to expunge the `censure` awarded
to him in the Sukna land scam by the then Army Chief Gen
Deepak Kapoor in 2010 from his Annual Confidential Record.

Lt Gen Halgali, who till now has been serving as the
Director General of Military Training (DGMT), was today
approved to take over as the Deputy Chief of Army, Defence
Ministry officials said here.

The post was lying vacant for close to three months after
Lt Gen V S Tonk retired on October 31 last year.

Halgali was Chief of Staff in the 33 Corps under Lt Gen PK Rath when the controversy over the land scam broke out in
2009 and a court of inquiry was ordered by the Eastern Army
Command.

Officials said the scam had come to light after Lt Gen
Halgali brought it to the notice of the higher authorities.

The `censure` awarded to him was expunged in December and
after that he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal (AVSM)
also on January 26, they said.

The CoI in 2009 had indicted former Military Secretary Lt
Gen Avadesh Prakash and former 33 Corps Commander Lt Gen Rath
for their role in issuing `No Objection Certificates` to
private realtors for building educational institutions over a
70-acre piece of land adjacent to the Sukna military station.